"I want you all to know that America today, America today is on bended knee, in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn. This nation stands with the good people of New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.” Ground Zero rescue workers told President George W. Bush, “We can’t hear you!” This roaring crowd heard from this leader, "I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you," replied Bush. "And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"
Directly after 9/11/01, there were local heroes who answered the call to help at a moment's notice. Baldwin native and retired New York City Fire Department member Bob Beckwith rushed into Lower Manhattan to assist this crisis. On September 14th, three days after this terrorist attack, President George W. Bush had his arm around Beckwith and spoke to the nation. In front of startled Americans who were reeling from this assault, Bush presented the iron spirit of this nation, next to a local figure, who carried out his duty to help others during his retirement.
This Long Islander was grandfather one moment and an image of hope for the nation in the next. Beckwith climbed on top of a damaged fire vehicle to locate which government officials were making a tour of Ground Zero, Senior Advisor Karl Rove asked him if the debris was secure enough for another person. He looked down again and it was Bush asking for a hand to be present next to Beckwith, where the president urged him to stay put. Bush later recalled this encounter, “The whole event was emotional because I was looking in the eyes of people who had rushed into danger to find loved ones and coworkers and people that they cared about.” Beckwith died this year from malignant skin cancer, and he was the image of the brotherhood of one fireman, helping another.
In the shadow of these assaults, both the Yankees and Mets were trying to advance within the baseball playoffs in October of 2001. As New Yorker’s searched for survivors at Ground Zero, the Yankees tried to gain a fourth consecutive World Series victory. Sports served as an important distraction toward helping our local tri-state citizens handle the difficult hardships of 9/11/01. By October 7th, 2001, Bush carried out his promise to assault Osama bin Laden and the Taliban government that protected Al-Qaeda through “Operation Enduring Freedom.” The bombing initiative created chaos within the Taliban lines, targeted Osama bin Laden’s network, and provided the Northern Alliance military forces necessary air support to gain an overall victory at this time.
Right away, St. James resident and firefighter Frank R. Tepedino learned about the attacks on New York City and headed to his firehouse in Manhattan to immediately help. Tepedino was a member of the New York City Fire Patrol, and he was determined to support people who were suffering from these attacks. As a young man, Tepedino was a feared baseball hitter from Brooklyn, spent a month at Ground Zero during the rescue and recovery efforts. He was picked 36th by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round of the amateur draft. Tepedino was instructed by the Orioles to enlist into the military with the hope that he would play ball and serve at the same time. A year later, Tepedino at 19 years old was left exposed within the Rule V Draft, taken by the Yankees, and elevated to the major leagues. Tepedino was at Parris Island, South Carolina, in the middle of basic training, when he read a letter from his mother detailing the way the Yankees acquired him.
Tepedino suited up in the “Pinstripes” and played with Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, and was good friends with the younger ball players of Bobby Murcer, Thurman Muson, and Bobby Cox. Playing several years for the Yankees, Tepedino saw stints in their Triple “A” minor league team in Syracuse, where he was later inducted into their baseball hall of fame. In 1971, Tepedino was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, was repurchased the next year by the Yankees, and in 1973, was sent to the Atlanta Braves. Hitting .304 and playing well with the other bench players, these Braves were known as “F-Troop,” for being “Fearless and Faithful” on the field. The next season, Tepedino replaced Henry Aaron after he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record on April 8th, 1974. When baseball came back to America on September 21st, Tepedino encountered his former manager and friend Cox, at Shea Stadium, where they reunited before the game. Cox was elated to see “Teppy,” as this former longtime manager, believed once he learned of these attacks on New York City that his friend would be in harm's way.
Twenty-seven years after Tepedino watched Aaron round the bases to surpass Ruth, this 9/11/01 firefighter was asked by the Yankees management to throw out the first pitch in the second game of the Divisional Series against the Oakland A’s. On October 11th, 2001, in front of a packed crowd, Tepedino tossed out this ball to his friend and former Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. Years ago, the Sporting News quoted Tepedino, “Baseball is like the flag. It brings us together. It’s what America is all about, competing, winning. It’s the best of what this country is. What we’ve been through at the World Trade Center with the rescue and recovery operations wasn’t just about firefighters and cops. It was everybody. It was contractors, electricians, carpenters, and plumbers. And it was baseball, too. This was about America.”
This local hero worked two and three jobs since his baseball career is still a fan of the game, Tepedino will surely be sitting down this week to watch and root for the local teams during the playoffs. During a 9/11/01 program at Rocky Point High School, Tepedino told the students, “I lost 343 (FDNY) friends on September 11, 2001. I didn't know them all personally, but they were all my friends." Tepedino dressed in two uniforms, one for major league baseball and the other as a devoted fireman who proudly embraced camaraderie with this team to respond during one of the darkest moments in our history